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In 2 Timothy 3:16, the apostle Paul writes: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." Two questions arise: 1) What is meant by inspiration?; and 2) How may we know that the Bible is inspired?
1) What is meant by inspiration? First, as Warfield has pointed out, "God breathed out" (theopneustos) is a better translation of the original language than "inspired." Theopneustos actually speaks of the fact that the Scripture is "breathed out" of the mouth of God, whereas "inspired" means "breathed in."
Titolo originale
1993 Issue 1 - Inspiration and the Bible - Counsel of Chalcedon
In 2 Timothy 3:16, the apostle Paul writes: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." Two questions arise: 1) What is meant by inspiration?; and 2) How may we know that the Bible is inspired?
1) What is meant by inspiration? First, as Warfield has pointed out, "God breathed out" (theopneustos) is a better translation of the original language than "inspired." Theopneustos actually speaks of the fact that the Scripture is "breathed out" of the mouth of God, whereas "inspired" means "breathed in."
In 2 Timothy 3:16, the apostle Paul writes: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." Two questions arise: 1) What is meant by inspiration?; and 2) How may we know that the Bible is inspired?
1) What is meant by inspiration? First, as Warfield has pointed out, "God breathed out" (theopneustos) is a better translation of the original language than "inspired." Theopneustos actually speaks of the fact that the Scripture is "breathed out" of the mouth of God, whereas "inspired" means "breathed in."
of GoeL' Two questions arise: 1) What is by inspil<ltion?; and 2) How may we know that the Bible is inspired? l)Whatismeantbyinspiration?First, as Warfield has pointed out, "God- breathed out" (theopneustos) is a better translation of the origiruillanguage than ''inspired. "Theopnenstosactuallyspeaks of the fact that the Scriptute is "breathed out" of the mouth of God, whereas "inspired" means "breathed in." In other words, theopnens- tos has to do, not so much with the transmission of Scriptnre, but with its origin. What Paul is saying is that the Scripture itself owes its origins and its contents to the creative breath of God. Biblical inspiration, then, to quote Warfield, is "that extraordinary supernatural influence (or, passively, theresult of it) exerted by the Holy Ghost on the writers of our sacred books, by which theirwordswererenderedalsothewords of GOd, andtherefore, perfectlyinfallible." Second, the biblical revelation which has been breathed out by God isa written revelation. In 2 Peter 1:20,21, we read that God chqse certain men (prophets) to inscriptnrate His message. These men were "moved by the Holy Spirit" so that their writings were nothing other than the very Word of God. The Holy Spirit enabled the prophets to record God's revelation without error. So, whereas GOd is the primary author of Scripture, the 'human writers are anthots in a secondary sense. But only God speaks creativelyinthe Scriptures. As Calvinhas said, the Bibleis given "bytherninisuyof men from God's very mouth." This is not to assert,. as do some modernists, that the humanauthorswere little more than passive puppets as God dictated words to them as a boss would dictate a letterto hisstenographer. Rather, theBibleteacheswhatissornetirnescalled the "organic" view of inspiration. Thatis, the Holy Spirit acted upon the human writers in an organic way, in accordance with their own personalities, characters, temperaments, gifts, and talents. Each author used his own particular style. Yet, when hewrote, he wrote only that which the Spirit intended, nothing more and nothing less. God had chosen from all eternity the individuals whom He would have pen His Word Qeremiah 1:4-10; Galatians 1:15,16). He fashioned these men, with their individual personalities, character traits, and talents (Psalm 139: 13-16), for their own personal task of writing. Then, in His perfect timing, God caused them to write His infallible Word. Third, in2 Timothy 3: 16 Paul would have us know that the whole Bible is God-breathed. Notonlyisthis true of the "sacred writings" Chiera grarnmata) of the Old Testament (v. 15), but it is true ofall Scriprure(pasagraphe), the New as weU as the Old. (There could scarcely be a moreprofoundstatementrnaderegarding the absolute trustworthiness and authorityofScripture.)Thisisthedocttine of plenary inspiration. Plenaryinspiration is taught throughout the Bible. InJohn 10:35, for example, Jesus refel5 to the Old Testament and says "the Scripture cannot be broken," i.e. it is authoritative. In Romans 3:2, Panl says that the entire Old Testament is "the oracles of God." In Luke 24:44 the Lord places the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms on 18 f mE COUNSEL of Chalc;edon Jannary, 1993 the same levelofauthorky; they are all to be considered as God's infallible Word. Regarding the New Testament writings, as we have already seen, in 2 TImothy 3:16, Paul says that all Scripture, i.e., the Old as well as the New is God-breathed. In 1 Corinthians 14:37 he claJms that "the things I write umo you are the conunandrnents of the Lord." And in 2 Peter 3: 15,16, Peter refers to Paul's apostolic writings as "Scripture." The docttineofplenaryinspirationmaintains, to quote Gordon Clark, "that the Bible is inspired in. all its parts. There is no section of it that was not breathed out by God. Nehemiah 7, withallitsnarnesandnurnbers, is just as much inspired as john 14." And foutth, the Bible teaches a verbal inspiration. As already seen, the Bible is not just partially Inspired. Neither is it ttUe that onlytheconceptsofSctiptureare God-breathed. Rather, itistheverywords ofScriptnrethataretheproductofGod's creative breath. This is confinned by numerous passages. Oneexarnpleofthis is found in Matthew 22:32, where Jesus bases the doctrine of the resurrection on the tense of the verb "to be." Says jesus, the Father has stated "I am' (not "I was," or"! will be") the GodofAbrabarn,lsaac, andjacob. Further, in Deuteronomy 18:18,19 we read: twill raisethemupapropheLand I will put My words in his mouth .. and whosoever will not listen unto My words which he will speak in My name, I will requiTeitojhim. "Jeremiah 1:9 says: "Then the Lord putJorth His hand and tauched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, BeholdI And in 2 Samuel 23:2 we have: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me and His word was in my tongue. "Thedocttine ofvetbalinspiration teaches that God the Spirit "guided the writers of the biblical booksin the choice COMPl.IITED ON PAGE 7 appreciation of the Calvinists of by- gone days and their comminnent to Biblical teaching even to the point of martyrdom. We are reminded of the greattrialsthesemenandwomenfaced and how their faith in a sovereign God was so practical and sustained them in daily life. Even in periods when, by appearances, Calvinismwas losing, God was actually spreading its influence. For example when Charles II became King of England this, humanly speak- ing, did not bode well for Calvinists. However "Charles II sent the Calvinists to the New World as did his futher and his grandfather, and in that uncharted wilderness they laid the foundations for the United States of America." (p. 309) John Lofton closes out the book by commenting on various Arminian au- thors today. He shows the error of their theology. This book is important in light of thestatus of theAmerican church scene and the growing statism within the United States. We cannot expect great change within our borders until our theology is revolutionized. Man must be replaced on center stage by God the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Once the spotlight of our soul is focused on him we can expect our society to be greatly changed and benefited. This book not only gives us thoughtful ammunition for 'the warfare but also offers us much encouragement to fol- low in the footsteps of Calvinists down through the centuries who have battled for the crown rights of Christ in all of life. n CRAMPTON, FROM PAGE 18 of their words and expressions so as to keep them from errors, without in any way disregarding their vocabulary or suppressing their individuality of style and expression." How maywe know that the Bible is inspired? As already noted, the Bible claims to be inspired, and it makes this claim frequently. This, of course, does not mean that it is. But it is at least significant that the claim is made. Very few books make such a asserti()n. The WesuninsterConfessionofFaith (1,4) says it this way: "The authority of theHolyScripture,forwhichitoughtto be believed and obeyed, dependethnot upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itsell), the author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God." The Christian, then, is very much in his right to insist that he believes in the plenary, verbal inspiration of Scripture simply because the self-authenticating Scripture makes this assertion. It should also be noted, however, that there are numerous "evidences" that the Bible is true, all of which can be used to refute the skeptic. Yet, these evidences donot "prove" the Bible to be the Word of God. The Bible cannot be proved; it is the groundbase for all proof. First, there are numerous cases in which archaeological research and historical investigations have corroborated the teaching of SCripture. Too, the Bible is logically consistent. It does not contradict itself, despite the claims of the critics (who have never been able to show that there are contradictions). Further, to use the words of the Westminster Confession (1,5) , we "may bemoved andinducedbythe testimony of the church to an high and reverend esteem of the Holy Scripture, and the heavenliness of the maner, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts [i.e., logical consistency], the scope of the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God." But this still does not "prove" the Scriptures to be God-breathed truth. Rather, "our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing wimess by and with the Word in our hearts" (l,5). According to the Westminster divines, we canknow that the Bible is truly God- breathed revelationonlywhen the Holy Spirit produces belief in our minds. This is the doctrine of the "testimony of the Holy Spirit. " TheBibJe, then, must be considered as the Christian's a)tiornatic starting point. That is, it is the indemonstrable firstprinciple, the axiom from which all else is deduced. Every system of beliefs must begin with indemonstrable premises. If these premises could be proved, then they would not be first principles. Hence, Christianityhasevery right to begin with Scripture and its self-authenticatingclaimofinspiration. In this sense, Christianity is no more circular in reasoning than any other system. How can I know that the Bible is the inspined Word of God? Again to quote the Confession: "The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth ... whollyupon God (who is truth itselO, the author thereof, and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God. " The Scripture is to be received hased on its own divine authority, its own claim to inspiration. But this will only take place when the Spirit Himself "bears witness by and with the Word in our hearts."n January, 1993 'DiE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7